It’s day 6 of this big festive event and today’s giveaway is Jay Northcote’s What Happens At Christmas. Woot! First the blurb:

When two friends pose as boyfriends, could what happens at Christmas turn into something more?

Justin is recently and unhappily single. Christmas is coming, and he doesn’t want to face his ex alone at their office party. So Sean—Justin’s best mate and long-time secret crush—volunteers to go with him and pretend to be his new flame. Sean has always lusted after Justin from afar, but there’s never been a good opportunity to ask him for more than friendship. Posing as Justin’s boyfriend isn’t a chore, and if Justin wants to rebound onto him, Sean’s more than willing. At the party pretence and reality blur, and a kiss on the dance floor leads to a night of passion. In the aftermath, they both assume it was a one-time thing until fate intervenes. Stuck together in London over the holidays, they give in to temptation again. But what happens at Christmas stays at Christmas… right?

Jay Northcote writes fantastic “slice of life” stories. Contemporary, realistic, believable, and with a genuine sweetness I find irresistible. Oh, and *clears throat* …hot. I really like Jay’s sex scenes. I believe in them. I’m a reader who considers sex scenes to be vital and I have a small and secret list of writers who I think write these particularly well. Jay is one of them. There’s something around pace, something around sincerity. You can tell the sex scenes matter to her; that they’re not just filler. As a reader, I really appreciate that.

And I haven’t told you anything about the story yet, have I, lol?

This book features one of my very favourite tropes: the fake relationship. In this case, the MCs, Justin and Sean, are long terms friends who pose as boyfriends at Justin’s office party to help him save face in front of his cheating ex. It’s a delicious set up. I love that the MCs have a long history, and a deep intimacy already, and Jay does a great job of explaining why they’ve never got together before and why they’re reluctant to be honest with one another now.

The story also features a snow-in which is officially another one of my Very Favourite Things in romances, especially when you throw in some (ahem) ‘snowman building’.

All in all, this a lovely Christmas story and highly recc’d – and you can win a copy by entering the giveaway – just leave a comment about who you would most like to be snowed-in with. The winner will be decided on 8th December 2015 at 8pm GMT.

Oh, and remember to keep coming back or more giveaways every day until 12th December. 🙂

If you want to read the book now, now, now goddammit!you can buy it in any of these places:

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her husband, two children, and two cats.

She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

19 responses to “12 Days of Christmas Stories Giveaway – Day 6”

My first wish would be to see snow with my own eyes! Yeah, sadly I NEVER see except on movies/tv. But who I would most like to be snowed in? I pictured a hunky lumberjack type of a person who could do everything to keep us warm??? *winks*

Great review, Joanna! Who would I like to be snowed in with? That’s a difficult question… You see, I was snowed in once with my friends during three days in the middle of nowhere, and we ended up almost hating each other…. It was a formidable experience. So in ideal circumstances, and no more than two days (I think that’s the longest you can stand sharing a reduced space with only another human being), I would go for a book boyfriend: my all times favourite, Aragorn from The Lord of The Rings (yes, with the face of Viggo Mortensen…)

i would like to actually be snowed in, for a start! It’s never happened, and I’ve wanted it to happen ever since I read children’s books in which it happened every winter without fail.

Who with? Tricky; I’d almost prefer to be on my own. OK, Septimus Hodge form Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia. I love the play, and I adore Septimus, and would like to get to know him better. But I’d have to ask hm not to talk about maths.

Honestly, not trying to kiss ass, but I would be snowed in with Jay. She is my dear and beloved friend and I know that all I would need is her, some good booze and a Cards Against Humanity set to guarantee a weekend of true belly-aching, snorting, tears-pouring-from-my-eyes type of laughter. xx

I don’t think anyone would like to be snowed in with me. I’m an absolute wimp in a cold wind, let along snow, and if there’s no hope of direct sunlight, I’d probably be super grumpy. I would only inflict myself on books in that case. Purely selflessly, of course!

Probably my best friend. We live far from each other now so being snowed in together would be fun. Unless I could have my very own romance novel in real life and end up snowed in with the man of my dreams! Thanks for another lovely giveaway!

If it were pure fantasy, I’d say Chris Hemsworth. But in real life, I’d be too tongue-tied to talk to him anyway and I sincerely hope he’s happy with his wife so there would be no touching which seems kind of boring. So I’ll go with hubs. I can always talk to him and touching is fun too! 😀